EPFR: Greek crisis hits equity funds
Data provider EPFR Global said that the Greece's fiscal crisis would stunt Europe's growth prospects and the ability of riskier sovereign borrowers to tap credit markets kept investors on edge going in May.
It said that latest data has shown that inflows into EPFR Global-tracked funds reflected some of the uncertainty, with Europe Equity Funds posting their biggest weekly outflow in nearly a year during the week ending May 5 while Commodity Sector Funds - with funds investing in precious metals to the fore -- had their best week on record.
While the spike in risk appetite hit emerging markets equity funds and snapped High Yield
Bond Funds' 10-week inflow streak, it did not impact the robust flows that Emerging Markets
and Global Bond Funds have enjoyed in recent weeks. US and Japan Equity Funds
benefited from some good US data, as did several sector fund groups including Energy and Technology Sector Funds.
EPFR Global senior analyst Cameron Brandt said: "The day-to-day flow numbers certainly faltered during the last couple of days in April. But there were signs of a rebound in early May
and cash is still leaving Money Market Funds, so fear has yet to trump the desire to put
Overall, EPFR Global-tracked bond funds posted collective net inflows of $3.8 billion for the week while equity funds recorded outflows of $1.43 billion. Money Market Funds ended a week where they posted their biggest daily inflow year-to-date with net outflows of over $18 billion.